I was about to pull the trigger on the Mechron over the RTV500 when I decided to call Kioti USA and ask them directly who now makes the CVT. I had been staring at their brochure, and Kioti's toll free number was right there, and I thought, who better to ask than Kioti themselves? Just about anyone else, it seems.
The call was answered on Kioti's end by a lady who turned out to be a switchboard attendant and/or receptionist of some sort. I informed her that I was a potential buyer with a technical question regarding the Mechron. She put me through to another lady. I again stated that I had a technical question regarding the Merchon. She promptly and rather curtly told me to contact my dealer. I explained that the dealer was over 100 miles away and requested that she put me in contact with an individual who could answer a technical question regarding the Merchon.
At that point she stated I was talking to the distribution center and there was nobody available to answer my question. I then asked for confirmation, since I was certain that I had called Kioti USA's headquarters. She confirmed and we hung up. None of this had made sense, so I Googled Kioti USA and got back the same toll free number that I had originally called.
I called again. The same attendant answered the call. I told her that I wanted to talk to a technical person, not the person she had put me through to before. She then dropped the stunner. She had put me through to someone named Connie, who was Kioti's Customer Relations person. So, on my very first call to Kioti, Customer Relations had lied to me.
She asked, did I want to speak to Connie again? No, I wanted to speak to a technical person. Sorry, but she was not allowed to put my call through to anyone but Connie, period. Stunner number two, an utterly rigid hierarchical system that does not allow individual initiative by the switchboard attendant. I asked her if she understood all of this was putting a sale at risk? She got very defensive and stated that she didn't have any choice, but was forced to follow the rules. I assured her that I understood she didn't have any choice but to follow the rules and we hung up.
I was more than a little ticked at the whole episode, so I decided to cool my heels for awhile. A couple of hours later I thought it through. While the machine still seemed to represent good value, I now had no confidence that I could count on the manufacturer for any assistance outside of dealer channels. Given that Kioti dealers have been disappearing in my neck of the woods and the selling dealer was a small town operation a long way off over some pretty twisty roads with no absolute guaranty that they would be around forever, the Mechron looked more than a little like a risky purchase. I decided against it and called the last Kubota dealer on my list. His last RTV500 in stock followed me home Friday afternoon.
Kubota USA make wish to take note and send Kioti USA a thank you card.
The call was answered on Kioti's end by a lady who turned out to be a switchboard attendant and/or receptionist of some sort. I informed her that I was a potential buyer with a technical question regarding the Mechron. She put me through to another lady. I again stated that I had a technical question regarding the Merchon. She promptly and rather curtly told me to contact my dealer. I explained that the dealer was over 100 miles away and requested that she put me in contact with an individual who could answer a technical question regarding the Merchon.
At that point she stated I was talking to the distribution center and there was nobody available to answer my question. I then asked for confirmation, since I was certain that I had called Kioti USA's headquarters. She confirmed and we hung up. None of this had made sense, so I Googled Kioti USA and got back the same toll free number that I had originally called.
I called again. The same attendant answered the call. I told her that I wanted to talk to a technical person, not the person she had put me through to before. She then dropped the stunner. She had put me through to someone named Connie, who was Kioti's Customer Relations person. So, on my very first call to Kioti, Customer Relations had lied to me.
She asked, did I want to speak to Connie again? No, I wanted to speak to a technical person. Sorry, but she was not allowed to put my call through to anyone but Connie, period. Stunner number two, an utterly rigid hierarchical system that does not allow individual initiative by the switchboard attendant. I asked her if she understood all of this was putting a sale at risk? She got very defensive and stated that she didn't have any choice, but was forced to follow the rules. I assured her that I understood she didn't have any choice but to follow the rules and we hung up.
I was more than a little ticked at the whole episode, so I decided to cool my heels for awhile. A couple of hours later I thought it through. While the machine still seemed to represent good value, I now had no confidence that I could count on the manufacturer for any assistance outside of dealer channels. Given that Kioti dealers have been disappearing in my neck of the woods and the selling dealer was a small town operation a long way off over some pretty twisty roads with no absolute guaranty that they would be around forever, the Mechron looked more than a little like a risky purchase. I decided against it and called the last Kubota dealer on my list. His last RTV500 in stock followed me home Friday afternoon.
Kubota USA make wish to take note and send Kioti USA a thank you card.